I'm not sure if you're referring to Argentina specificallly or South America in general, (and it also depends on your definition of 'heavy' of course), but i think you're being just a wee bit harsh.

compared to the rest of the so called "western" world, we were quite behind as a continent.
kids who went from AC/DC to Slayer in just a matter of months. The same kinda thing happened later in the European Eastern Bloc.

Is there some kind of historical or cultural reason why Uruguay seems to have been quite well represented in hindsight with regard to heavier acts in the 70s? There were quite a few worthwile Uraguayian releases despite the country's comparatively small population. Not a lot, but they definitely punched above their weight for their size.

Well, it'd be hard to say but music plays a pretty important part in Uruguay's cultural background, probably only second to football. They also benefitted from a somewhat "milder" dictatorship compared to other countries (not by much though, but more stuff seemed to get through the cracks). Something that also should be said is that most of those "avant garde" bands came from the higher class neighbourhoods, where there was people who had access to import music and such. For instance, I remember that the last time I was over there, I was told that Alvacast were kinda dismissed by a good part of the rock underground because they were "too posh", and when it came to concerts, bands like Ácido were more popular.
Also, when it comes to Metal (but I think this might apply to other genres as well) Uruguay benefitted from being close to Brazil and having quite an open commercial relation with them. Not only because of the direct influence, but also because the music industry was much more developed and would release much more stuff than any other country in South America. If you wanted to listen to anything more extreme than Megadeth back then, your most affordable option was trying to get Brazilian releases. Even today, when you got to any record market in Montevideo, most of the stock is gonna be Brazilian prints, but here in Argentina they aren't that common. So, in a time when over here all you had were local bands like Riff and V8 and Iron Maiden and Metallica from abroad, in Uruguay you had easier access to stuff like Kreator or Sepultura, thanks to the releases by Cogumelo and other Brazilian labels. That's why you had stuff like Graf Spee and Angkor Vat when in Argentina, which had a much bigger scene, everyone was still trying to be Metallica and maybe Slayer.

Well, it'd be hard to say but music plays a pretty important part in Uruguay's cultural background, probably only second to football. They also benefitted from a somewhat "milder" dictatorship compared to other countries (not by much though, but more stuff seemed to get through the cracks). Something that also should be said is that most of those "avant garde" bands came from the higher class neighbourhoods, where there was people who had access to import music and such. For instance, I remember that the last time I was over there, I was told that Alvacast were kinda dismissed by a good part of the rock underground because they were "too posh", and when it came to concerts, bands like Ácido were more popular.
Also, when it comes to Metal (but I think this might apply to other genres as well) Uruguay benefitted from being close to Brazil and having quite an open commercial relation with them. Not only because of the direct influence, but also because the music industry was much more developed and would release much more stuff than any other country in South America. If you wanted to listen to anything more extreme than Megadeth back then, your most affordable option was trying to get Brazilian releases. Even today, when you got to any record market in Montevideo, most of the stock is gonna be Brazilian prints, but here in Argentina they aren't that common. So, in a time when over here all you had were local bands like Riff and V8 and Iron Maiden and Metallica from abroad, in Uruguay you had easier access to stuff like Kreator or Sepultura, thanks to the releases by Cogumelo and other Brazilian labels. That's why you had stuff like Graf Spee and Angkor Vat when in Argentina, which had a much bigger scene, everyone was still trying to be Metallica and maybe Slayer.

Thanks very much for the in-depth explanation Cochino, very illuminating info & the context you've provided helps me to a far better understanding of the situation. I guess countries bordering Brazil may have been able to hear a greater variety of music via Brazilian radio too, although i doubt much of the heavier stuff got that much airplay.
Sorry if i cast you in the role of 'our South American correspondent', but as the conversation naturally brought the question up & i'd been curious for some time about how Uruguay were relative overachievers, you seemed like the guy to ask.
Really appreciate you taking the time to address my niche barely-topic-adjacent query in such a thorough but digestible manner, have a virtual cerveza on me!

I cannot, I shall not, I will not obey.Avenger wrote : I'm not a copyright office nor a judicial entity.

Well, it'd be hard to say but music plays a pretty important part in Uruguay's cultural background, probably only second to football. They also benefitted from a somewhat "milder" dictatorship compared to other countries (not by much though, but more stuff seemed to get through the cracks). Something that also should be said is that most of those "avant garde" bands came from the higher class neighbourhoods, where there was people who had access to import music and such. For instance, I remember that the last time I was over there, I was told that Alvacast were kinda dismissed by a good part of the rock underground because they were "too posh", and when it came to concerts, bands like Ácido were more popular.
Also, when it comes to Metal (but I think this might apply to other genres as well) Uruguay benefitted from being close to Brazil and having quite an open commercial relation with them. Not only because of the direct influence, but also because the music industry was much more developed and would release much more stuff than any other country in South America. If you wanted to listen to anything more extreme than Megadeth back then, your most affordable option was trying to get Brazilian releases. Even today, when you got to any record market in Montevideo, most of the stock is gonna be Brazilian prints, but here in Argentina they aren't that common. So, in a time when over here all you had were local bands like Riff and V8 and Iron Maiden and Metallica from abroad, in Uruguay you had easier access to stuff like Kreator or Sepultura, thanks to the releases by Cogumelo and other Brazilian labels. That's why you had stuff like Graf Spee and Angkor Vat when in Argentina, which had a much bigger scene, everyone was still trying to be Metallica and maybe Slayer.

Thanks very much for the in-depth explanation Cochino, very illuminating info & the context you've provided helps me to a far better understanding of the situation. I guess countries bordering Brazil may have been able to hear a greater variety of music via Brazilian radio too, although i doubt much of the heavier stuff got that much airplay.
Sorry if i cast you in the role of 'our South American correspondent', but as the conversation naturally brought the question up & i'd been curious for some time about how Uruguay were relative overachievers, you seemed like the guy to ask.
Really appreciate you taking the time to address my niche barely-topic-adjacent query in such a thorough but digestible manner, have a virtual cerveza on me!

Yeah, I got to talk to a few people who were part of the old Uruguayan scene, but you know how distorted (either intentionally or not) those "back in the day" stories can get, and I've also added some of my own conclusions, so take everything with a pinch of salt and more like an "essay" than a statement of facts, but that's how I would explain the strange case of Uruguay. I would also add that the Pantera factor completely destroyed the Metal scene over there and pretty much every single band started playing lazy groove stuff by the mid 90s and it kinda remains like that until nowadays. That's also why all the great bands are from a rather specific time window.

compared to the rest of the so called "western" world, we were quite behind as a continent.
kids who went from AC/DC to Slayer in just a matter of months. The same kinda thing happened later in the European Eastern Bloc.

Is there some kind of historical or cultural reason why Uruguay seems to have been quite well represented in hindsight with regard to heavier acts in the 70s? There were quite a few worthwile Uraguayian releases despite the country's comparatively small population. Not a lot, but they definitely punched above their weight for their size.

Well, it'd be hard to say but music plays a pretty important part in Uruguay's cultural background, probably only second to football. They also benefitted from a somewhat "milder" dictatorship compared to other countries (not by much though, but more stuff seemed to get through the cracks). Something that also should be said is that most of those "avant garde" bands came from the higher class neighbourhoods, where there was people who had access to import music and such. For instance, I remember that the last time I was over there, I was told that Alvacast were kinda dismissed by a good part of the rock underground because they were "too posh", and when it came to concerts, bands like Ácido were more popular.
Also, when it comes to Metal (but I think this might apply to other genres as well) Uruguay benefitted from being close to Brazil and having quite an open commercial relation with them. Not only because of the direct influence, but also because the music industry was much more developed and would release much more stuff than any other country in South America. If you wanted to listen to anything more extreme than Megadeth back then, your most affordable option was trying to get Brazilian releases. Even today, when you got to any record market in Montevideo, most of the stock is gonna be Brazilian prints, but here in Argentina they aren't that common. So, in a time when over here all you had were local bands like Riff and V8 and Iron Maiden and Metallica from abroad, in Uruguay you had easier access to stuff like Kreator or Sepultura, thanks to the releases by Cogumelo and other Brazilian labels. That's why you had stuff like Graf Spee and Angkor Vat when in Argentina, which had a much bigger scene, everyone was still trying to be Metallica and maybe Slayer.

Interesting discussion. Keep in mind that most of South America and Eastern Europe (with the exception of Poland and Yugoslavia, perhaps Czechoslovakia to some extent as well) skipped punk altogether and went straight to metal.